C.V.N.E. Imperial Gran Reserva Family Cellar Release 2009, 2010, 2011
C.V.N.E. Imperial Gran Reserva Family Cellar Release 2009, 2010, 2011
- 75cl
- 14%
- Red Still
- Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo
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Optimal drinking window: 2026 - 2038
Est. delivery in winter 2026/2027
Imperial is CVNE's flagship, made only in years they consider worthy of the name, and this Family Cellar Release is a rather wonderful piece of mischief: three Gran Reservas, 2009, 2010 and 2011, held back from release and aged longer in the family's own cellar before finally being let out into the world.
C.V.N.E. 2009: 1x75cl
“Aromatically bursting with red fruits, this is very perfumed, full flavoured wine with notes of cranberries. It is a mouthwatering, confident wine that will last a long time.”
95/100 Decanter
C.V.N.E. 2010: 1x75cl
“Old vine parcels in Briones and Villalba provide the fruit for this exceptional blend of Tempranillo with 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo. This is a wine to drink now or, better still, cellar for a decade or more: sweet oak, black fruits, Asian spices and remarkable focus and freshness. Great value, too.”
97/100 Tim Atkin
C.V.N.E. 2011: 1x75cl
“This is a fabulous gran reserva from a very good but lightly heralded vintage. Aromas of spiced plum, black olive, fig, tobacco and cassis come together like a puzzle. A deep, pure palate shows near-perfect balance, while this tastes of plum, berry fruits and earthy spice. Smooth, elegant and chocolaty on the finish, this delivers all one can ask for from Rioja”
97/100, & 5th in Top 100 Wine Enthusiast
These are vintages that have already proved their pedigree, and the extra bottle age shows in a trio of wines that have shed their baby fat and settled into something altogether more contemplative.
The fruit comes from CVNE's best parcels around Haro in Rioja Alta, where chalky clay and limestone soils sit at moderate altitude, lending the wines their characteristic freshness and backbone. The Atlantic influence here tempers the heat of the Mediterranean further south, giving slower ripening and grapes with real acidity intact. It's this cooler, more structured terroir that allows Imperial to age so gracefully over decades rather than years.
Rioja is Spain's most historic and tightly regulated wine region, divided into three zones of which Rioja Alta is generally considered the most elegant and age-worthy. Gran Reserva status demands a minimum of five years' ageing, including at least two in oak and two in bottle, though CVNE habitually exceeds these minimums by a considerable margin. Compared to the riper, more full-throttle wines of Rioja Oriental, Alta wines like this tend towards finesse over power.
Vintage 2009: A long, dry summer resulted in a vintage that arrived slightly ahead of the long-term average harvest date with water stress alleviated by much needed rain falling in mid-September. Quality was excellent, with alcoholic and phenolic ripeness in balance with one another.
Vintage 2010: The 2010 growing season possessed all the attributes required for an excellent vintage. Heavy rainfall during the 2009/2010 winter provided ample water for the vines’ roots to access throughout the warm, dry growing season. These conditions encouraged slow, even ripening, kept the vineyards in pristine health and helped to produce high-quality fruit.
Vintage 2011: A vintage that called on the lived experience and intuition of the C.V.N.E. viticultural team. In many ways 2011 was an atypical vintage, with water stress and a narrow diurnal range contributing to uneven ripening throughout the Imperial vineyards. Thanks to careful vineyard management, the grapes were in excellent health at harvest. Despite the harvest arriving a week ahead of the long-term average, the wines bear the hallmarks of deep concentration and elegant structure that the Imperial name demands.
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